Easter Egg
by eramosa
Summary: AU - Beckett is shot at a crime scene, Lanie and the boys meet her family for the first time.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: AU - Beckett and Castle met while Kate was in the Academy and have been married for six years, Alexis is four, no Meredith, strictly baby Caskett. Kate has been working as a Homicide Detective at the 12th for a little more than two years, but Lanie and the 'boys' know almost nothing about her personal life. Castle's writing career is going very well with a long string of best-sellers, but being a happily married family man he isn't exactly 'Page 6' material.**

**Disclaimer: Standard, I own none of it.**

**Easter Egg**

Ryan slowly looked up from his position crouching behind the cruiser, the sound of gunfire had finally ceased. He spotted several Uni's cautiously approaching the concealed area where the shooter must have been hiding. What had started out as a routine crime scene was now chaos, CSU techs, EMT's and ME techs all shaken by being in the line of fire of a gunman hiding in the shadows. He heard a groan from his left, he turned to see a pair of familiar looking heels sticking out from near the front of the car. "SHIT! BECKETT" he ran along the side of the cruiser and found her lying in a heap, blood staining her shirt and blazer, starting to pool by her prone torso.

"OFFICER DOWN! EMT OVER HERE NOW" he yelled as he knelt down beside his fallen partner. Beckett's face was ashen, her eyes unfocused and her breathing was shallow and labored. "Stay with us Beckett, come on Kate fight it" he said as he felt one of the EMTs push past him. He tried to focus as the level of activity and noise grew around her. He heard Lanie exclaim "OH God" and turned to see her bury her face in Esposito's shoulder. Then he heard Beckett's raspy voice, he turned back to her and knelt closer to listen.

"Ca l Ri Rick an Alexsss, p pplease" she stammered out barely audible above the commotion of the technicians trying to keep her alive. Ryan looked down and saw her fingers barely clinging to her phone. He reached to take it from her.

"Don't worry Beckett, I'll get them for you, you just hang on" he assured her as she took a shuttering breath and slowly closed her tear filled eyes.

Ryan, Esposito and Lanie watched helplessly as the EMT's loaded Kate in to the back of the ambulance. Javi gave Lanie's hand a squeeze "Go with her chica, we'll meet you at the hospital". As Lanie got in the back of the ambulance and it drove off sirens blaring, Ryan looked at the phone in his hand.

* * *

><p><em>"Come on chica, you must know something about her life, you're her friend, you guys talk all the time" Javi whined.<em>

_Lanie raised a brow "and what makes you think I'd tell you two clowns even if I did know anything?" _

_"We're all friends aren't we, we should know a little bit about each other" Kevin pleaded._

_"Alright, tell me what you think you know and I'll decide if I can fill in anything."_

_Javi looked at Kevin and then said "Well we know that every time we end up having to stay late, she takes off for a couple of minutes to make a call to someone and from time to time she goes into a conference room to talk on the phone and she smiles a lot during the call." Kevin shifted from one foot to the other "I sorta listened in the other night and heard her tell someone not to fall asleep on the couch waiting up for her, and then she said 'love you too babe'so that sounds like she's got someone special in her life."_

_Lanie looked between the two detectives "That's it?" They both both nodded and she laughed. "You've been working with her for a year and a half, and that's all you've figured out about her." she shook her head "Okay look, I guess I shouldn't be too hard on you, I know a bit more about her but not a whole lot. She's married, her husband's name is Rick, she says he acts like a 10 year old on a sugar rush sometimes, that's about all I know about him. They have a little girl Kate calls Lex, I think she's about three. The only other thing I know is that her mother-in-law makes no secret of the fact that she doesn't approve of Kate being a cop 'not a suitable profession for a woman'." she smirks at the last part._

_"Beckett is a mom? Wow!" says Ryan, "Ya, can't imagine how that works" agrees Javi._

_Lanie scowls "Just because you two oh so manly he-men are practically scared to death of her, doesn't mean she hasn't got a softer motherly side." _

* * *

><p>Ryan slowly looks through the contact list on Beckett's phone until he comes across an entry that says 'Rick', he presses the call button as he raises the phone to his ear. After a couple of rings a deep male voice says "Hey babe what's up?"<p>

Ryan shudders "uh Hello, my name is Detective Kevin Ryan, I work with Beck I mean Kate. Look man I'm sorry but she's been shot. She's being taken to Mount Sinai Hospital. She was asking for Rick and it sounded like Alex. Again I'm so sorry"

"Oh God Kate... Thank you for calling Detective" the line went dead.


	2. Chapter 2

Ryan, Esposito and Lanie sat in the surgical waiting room for what seemed like hours waiting for news about Beckett's condition. Captain Montgomery had joined them and the four of them sat quietly waiting. The door pushed open and a nurse entered followed by a flamboyantly dressed older woman with flaming red hair, she was followed by a tall dark haired man who carried a sleeping red haired little girl. "This is our surgical waiting room, someone will be in to update you on your wife's condition as soon as they are able to" the nurse said before leaving the room.

Lanie studied the new arrivals for a few seconds before gasping and bringing her hands up to cover her mouth. "the Easter Egg" she said in a whisper. Her companions looked at her with raised brows.

"What are you talking about chica, what Easter Egg?"

Lanie looked towards the three near the door and then back to the boys. "You guys know I'm a big Richard Castle fan right? I've read every one of his books. Well that man right there, I'm pretty sure is Richard Castle" she said barely above a whisper.

"So? You said something about and Easter Egg. Hey I think that is Martha Rodgers the actress with him" said Ryan quietly.

"Well I am a member on a Castle Fan Site, there is a long running forum discussion about what's called an Easter Egg, some hidden thing that appears in books or games, put there by the author to see if anyone notices, anyways in the last 16 books he has released, the name Kate has appeared once in each book. Sometimes it's a waitress or a receptionist or some other character's wife but it's always there. Then in his last 8 books the name Alexis has started showing up in the same fashion. Every time a new book comes out it's almost a race to see who can find the two names and post the page number and context first. People spend days trying to figure out if there is a connection with the page numbers or the way the two names are used, as well as speculating on who these two women are."

"Sounds like people have too much time on there hands" Javi chuckled. He received a punch in the shoulder as a response.

"I can't believe it's been staring me right in the face for over two years, Kate calls her daughter Lex. Lex is a short form of Alexis. Don't you guys see?" All three men looked at her blankly.

"Richard, this is ridiculous, you must speak to Katherine and make her understand this is no way for our family to live."

"Mother, you know Kate is..."

"Yes, she's stubborn as a mule and fiercely independent, I am aware, but here we are sitting in this dreadful place waiting to find out if your darling little daughter is going to grow up without her mother. Please Richard talk to her, she could go back to school to finish her law degree."

"Mother this is not the time or place for this discussion."

Lanie decided it was time to confirm her conclusion. She got up and approached the arguing pair. "Excuse me, sorry to interrupt but are you Martha Rodgers the Broadway Actress?" Martha nodded. "and are you Richard Castle the author?" Castle smiled and said "Yes I am".

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help but overhear, are you talking about Detective Kate Beckett by any chance?"

Martha looked at the young woman and responded "Why yes. How do you know my daughter-in-law?" Lanie's jaw dropped, and she heard a choked cough from behind her.

"Oh I'm sorry, my name is Lanie Parrish, I'm a Medical Examiner and these three gentlemen behind me are Captain Roy Montgomery, Detective's Kevin Ryan and Javier Esposito, we all work with Kate".

"Nice to meet you, I've heard so much about all of you. I wish the circumstances where better." Castle said as he transferred the sleeping child to his left side so he could shake hands. Ryan, Esposito and Montgomery stood and greeted Rick and Martha. "Thank you for calling me Detective Ryan"

"I'm sorry that I had to. You can call me Kevin."

"We knew Kate was married but we had no idea who you were Mr. Castle" said Lanie.

"Really?" Martha scoffed "well I suppose that shouldn't surprise me, Katherine is adamant that our family's notoriety and financial position should not interfere with or influence her career in any way."

"Please call me Rick."

"Daddy you're squishing me" whined the sleepy little girl.

"Sorry Pumpkin" Castle said as he moved to a chair and turned her around to sit on his lap. Everyone else moved to be seated as well.

Alexis opened her eyes and looked around the room taking note of the strangers that were looking at her. She watched her Gram sit down in the chair beside her and Daddy. "Daddy, did Mommy go to heaven to be with the angels?"

"No sweetie the doctors are still operating on her to make her all better so she can stay with us." Castle said softly as he bent to kiss the top of her head.

"Oh, that's good because I would be sad and miss her lots and lots if she went away." she replied. Across the aisle, a tear formed at the corner of Lanie's eye and the three men shifted, suddenly uncomfortable in their seats.

After sitting quietly for a few minutes, Alexis gave her dad's sleeve a little tug "Daddy who is them?"

"They work with your Mommy, Pumpkin. That's Lanie she's sort of a doctor, that's Kevin and Javier they're detectives like Mommy and the man on the end Captain Montgomery is Mommy's boss."

"Oh"

The silence returned. After a few minutes Lanie noticed that the little red-head was focused on Captain Montgomery, her brow beginning to furrow in a very Beckett-like manor.

Alexis let out a quiet little "hhmpf" and slide down off her dad's lap.

"Pumpkin, where are you going?"

Alexis turned to her father and placed her hand on his knee "It's okay Daddy, you just stay right there. I'll be back real soon." She turned, strode across the aisle and came to an abrupt stop in front of Captain Montgomery. Her hands came up to her hips and her face took on a look that the ME and the two detectives recognized as a near perfect copy of the Beckett death glare.

When the Captain met her gaze she began in as menacing a voice as a four year old little girl can muster without yelling "You is not s'pposed to let bad mens shoot their guns at my Mommy! It might make her go to heaven and I is too little to look after Daddy all by myself."

Startled by the intense little person in front of him, Montgomery stammered "I'm so sorry sweetheart..."

"No, not Sweetheart! You is not my family. My name is Alexis" she interrupted. The adults in the room sat in wide eyed silence as the normally gruff police captain sank in his seat under the intense glare of the little red-head.

"hhmpf" she let out just before she turned on her heals and crossed the distance to her father.

"Daddy, Mommy says that when you keep your mouth open like that you gonna catch flies" the sweetness had returned to her voice.

"Yes Pumpkin, sorry" Castle responded as he schooled his features, he reached down and helped her back onto his lap. She turned her eyes to each of the adults in the room, Lanie looked like she was trying not to giggle, Ryan and Esposito shifted in their seats trying not to meet her gaze. When she looked up to her Grandma the older red-head smiled, gave her a little wink and said "Way to go, kiddo".

"Mother, don't encourage her" Castle warned quietly. This earned him a glare from the older red-head. He turned to look at Captain Montgomery and mouthed "Sorry" to him. Montgomery just shook his head slightly.

They all sat in silence for another half an hour before a Doctor, still in a surgical cap and gown walked into the room "Family of Kate Beckett"


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Wow! Thanks for all the Favorites, Follows and Reviews. It really blows me away. **

"_Family of Kate Beckett"_

Castle immediately jumped up, settling Alexis on his hip as he approaches the Doctor, Martha is close behind. "We're her family."

"Good evening Mr. Beckett, I'm Doctor Josh Davidson"

"It's Castle actually, Richard Castle. My wife's maiden name is Beckett, she uses it at work."

The surgeon raised his brow as he thought 'Fat chance I'd ever let my wife use her maiden name at work, wuss', "Well anyway Mr. Castle, your wife is out of surgery, she pulled through very well considering the amount of blood she lost. The bullet went straight through, no fragments were left inside. Her left lung was punctured and it collapsed. We were able to re-inflate it after we closed the wounds. She should make a full recovery, but it will take several months. Lung injuries can be very painful..."

Rick could barely focus on what the Dr was saying 'She's alright! she's going to be fine, Kate is strong, she's okay...' was cycling through his mind.

"... Your wife was very lucky Mr. Castle. An inch to the right and we wouldn't be here now."

Martha sighed with relief "Wonderful! Thank you for your efforts Dr. Davidson. When can we see her?"

"Yes I want to see Mommy, can we please now" chimed in Alexis.

"She'll be in recovery until the general anesthesia wears off, then she'll be moved to the ICU. You can see her there. Someone will come and take you to the ICU waiting room."

"Thank you Doctor" Castle finally said reaching out to shake the man's hand.

* * *

><p>Beep...beep...beep...beep...beep...beep...beep...<p>

'I'm so going to kick his ass out of bed if he doesn't turn off that dam alarm' was Kate's initial thought as she gained the first wisps of consciousness. Her second thought was simply 'OW!'

Beep...beep...beep...beep...

'Hospital? Why am I here?' she tries to draw a deep breath but feels severe pain 'OW! Well I guess that answers that.'

'What happened to me?' Then it all came back to her in a torrent of images and emotion.

* * *

><p><em>Standing in front of a cruiser she turned toward the alcove just in time to see the muzzle flash before feeling the sharp sting in her chest and back as the bullet passed through her. The crack of the gun sounded like a long slow thunder clap to her as time seemed to slow to a stand still. She could see the ground approaching as she crumpled.<em>

_She watched with detached interest as the men and women around her seemed to move in super slow motion. She could hear what sounded like yelling and many more thunder claps, but she couldn't focus on any of it. Rick, she could see his deep blue eyes sparkling in front of her, his laugh ringing in her ears, long wisps of red swirled around the blue eyes and the deep toned laughter turned into high pitched giggles, Alexis._

_The thunder stopped. She has to call them, her phone, it's in her blazer pocket, she needs her phone. Moving her hand causes excruciating pain to course through her chest. She struggles though, her fingers close around the edges of the device. The pain from removing the small slab from her pocket finally is too much to bare. She groans._

_ She heard her name, it sounded like Kevin, she tries again to focus._

_ "OFFICER DOWN" she thinks she hears. She opens her eyes wide and tries to focus on the figure kneeling beside her 'it's Kevin'. He is talking to her, listen "...Beckett...Kate..." is all she catches. _

_ Now others are all around her, touching her 'OW that hurts' she screams but she doesn't actually hear her voice. 'he can call, he can call Rick' she thinks._

_ "Call Rick and Alexis please" she forces the words out but the pain in her chest is so intense she slowly gives in to the dark._

* * *

><p>Beep...beep...beep...beep...<p>

'Oh God!' she slowly opens her eyes trying to adjust to the glaring brightness that surrounds her. A moan escapes her lips as she is again reminded of the pain in her chest. A set of bright brown eyes come into her focus.

"Well good to see you're awake Detective. You're in the ICU, my name is Erin, I'll be looking in on you from time to time throughout the night. Let's see if we can make you a bit more comfortable and I'll call the Doctor to come check on you. Then we have some folks that are anxious to see you, including one absolutely darling little red-head that all the nurses on the floor want to take home." says the cheerful young nurse.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Wow I am really just blown away be the response, thank you. **

All eyes went to the young nurse as she entered the waiting room "Mr. Castle, I'm Erin, I'll be your wife's primary caregiver for the next couple of nights. Your wife is settled in her room now. The Doctor has finished his post-op exam and she has awoken from the anesthesia. She is still a bit groggy and that won't be helped by the pain medication we've just given her, so I wouldn't expect a lot of coherent conversation just yet and she will probably be drifting in and out of sleep for a while." She looked at Lanie, Kevin, Javier and Roy. "Anyone not part of her immediate family, please keep your visit short and one at a time. We don't want too much excitement for her as rest is the best thing for her right now."

"Can I see my Mommy now?"

Erin smiled brightly and approached little girl "Why yes little one, I know she can't wait to see you." she held out her hand, Alexis slide off her chair with a huge smile and took it. The two of them turned and started to walk towards the door, Alexis paused, glanced over her shoulder "You coming Daddy?"

* * *

><p>Erin pushed the door to the room open and let Rick, Martha and Alexis enter.<p>

The sight that greeted them made Rick's heart clench, the woman he loved more than life itself, looked pale and fragile. Tubes and wires running from various monitors and IV bags accentuated the effect as did her closed eyes. 'Oh God, I really almost lost her' he thought as a tears came to his eyes.

Martha after staring silently with her hands held to her face for a few seconds said "Oh my" in a barely audible voice.

"Is Mommy sleeping?" Alexis whispered to break the silence.

Kate's eyes flew open and in a slightly hoarse voice responded "No baby, I'm not asleep" followed by a small cough and a noticeable wince.

"Mommy!" the little girl shrieked as she ran to the bed looking for a way to climb up.

"ALEXIS no!" Rick ran to scoop up his daughter "Mommy is still very hurt and you might knock a wire or tube."

"Rick, please I need.." a slight wince again crossed Kate's features. After she recovered she sought out his eyes with a pleading look and then glanced to her uninjured side.

Rick was unsure, he looked over his shoulder and noticed Erin standing behind him. He met her eyes with a questioning gaze and she nodded and said quietly "As long as she doesn't bounce around and she's careful, it should be okay."

Rick noticed the almost identical smiles on his girls as he carried Alexis around the bed and gently lowered her small frame to the soft surface. The little girl immediately cuddled into her mother's side, a relieved sigh came from Kate's lips.

"Love you Mommy" whispered the little red-head. "I love you too baby girl"

"I was so scared you was gonna leave me and go to heaven with the angels" sobbed the little girl.

"Oh Lex, thinking about how much I love you and Daddy helped me tell the angels I didn't want to go with them"

"I is glad they let you stay" her little hand reached up to wipe the tears from her mother's cheek. At this point there wasn't a dry eye among the other three adults in the room.

"I told your boss the Captn that he is not s'pposed to let bad mens shoot you no more" Kate's brows raised and she met eyes with Castle with fear in her gaze.

Rick chuckled "It's alright babe, I'll tell you about it later."

Alexis continued "Gran told me way to go kiddo after" Kate shifted her gaze to Martha "Did she?"

Martha stepped toward the bed "Of course I did Darling it was very brave of her. Katherine dear I'm so very glad that you survived this horrible incident. We'll have to talk more about it later. I think I'll go back to the waiting room, you have some very concerned friends that I'm sure would like a chance to pop in to see you." With that she left the room followed out by nurse Erin.

Kate looked at Castle "I love you so much babe" her eyes starting to drift shut.

"I love you too sweetheart, always"

"Daddy, ssshh Mommy is s'pposed to be sleeping lots, Nurse Erin says so" Alexis loudly whispers while running her little fingers through her mother's hair. She slowly closes her eyes as well.

Castle looks at his girls and feels his heart swell with pride and love. A soft knock on the door startles him slightly, he turns to see Lanie poke her head into the room. "Come in" he whispers.

Lanie and Castle meet part way into the room, Lanie looks at the two on the bed and coos "ah that's so sweet" Rick nods.

"Looks like she drifted off so I won't stay. I just needed to she her, that she's really alright. I rode in the ambulance with her, it was the worst twelve minutes of my life." Lanie whispered.

"Thank you for being there for her" Castle returned as he reached up and wiped a tear from her cheek "Come back anytime your able to."

Lanie nodded and turned to leave, Castle returned to sit in the chair beside the bed.


	5. Chapter 5

Two days later Lanie finally got a chance to slip away from the precinct at a decent hour, things had been very hectic with trying to identify Beckett's shooter, and then there was the original murder that had been the reason for the fateful crime scene. When she arrived in the ICU, she was told that Kate was considered stable and had been moved to a private room on another floor. She went back to the elevator and proceeded to Beckett's new floor. When she found the room she peeked in and found Kate alone, her eyes closed, but when the door squeaked she opened her eyes and smiled. "Lanie, come in please. It's good to see you."

Lanie noticed that some of the colour had returned to her friends face and the amount of equipment she was connected to was greatly reduced. "Hey girl" she said with a smile as she made her way to the chair beside the bed. She took Kate's hand and gave it little squeeze, they shared a smile.

"So Mrs Richard freaking Castle huh! Girl I should bust your skinny ass outta here so I can kill you myself. I can't believe you let me go all fangirl about your husband and you didn't say a word."

"Lanie, I'm sorry"

"uh huh, You even followed along when I was talking about the Easter Egg discussion on the fan site with out as much as a flinch and here all along you're really his true number one fan." Kate started to giggle but it quickly turned in to a wince. "hhmpf, sorry but you sorta deserve it a little bit" she smiled at Kate and squeezed her hand.

"Well, not so much just a true fan anymore, sometimes more of a research assistant" Kate said with a wicked smirk. "I help him research and refine certain scenes and situations" Lanie raised her brows and her jaw dropped.

"Well that being said or maybe unsaid, I gotta ask what happened to those scenes in 'Storm Clouds'? They just didn't seem up to the usual standard."

Kate half giggled, half winced again, "Well I had a sort of a rough time in my last trimester, spent the last two weeks before Alexis was born in the hospital. Then of course there was the six week postpartum waiting period, anyways Rick wrote that entire book while I was unavailable for any consults as it were" Lanie's eyes widened and then she started to laugh. "I really am surprised that you and the other fans didn't associate that it was the first book that Alexis appeared in with the crappy sex scenes." Kate continued with a smirk.

The two of them continued to banter back and forth for another fifteen or twenty minutes when there was a soft knock on the door. It swung open slowly and Jim Beckett poked his head in "Hey Katie, um I can come back if you're busy"

"No Dad come in, please come in" she smiled brightly as her father walked into the room and toward her bed. "This is my friend from the precinct, Lanie Parrish, she's a Medical Examiner. Lanie this is my dad Jim Beckett."

"Nice to meet you Sir" Lanie reached to shake his hand.

"Pleasure to meet you too, please call me Jim"

"Well I better be getting back to the morgue, give you two time to chat" Lanie smiled at father and daughter before standing and heading for the door.

"Thanks for coming Lanie, come back when you can please" Kate waved to her friend.

"I'm so sorry it took me so long to get here Katie bug. You know me, I got to the cabin stuck my phone in a drawer and forgot about it. I just got Rick's messages this morning."

"Dad it's okay"

* * *

><p>Lanie made her way back to Kate's room a few days later, she was exhausted, there had been three body drops almost all at the same time. It was nearing the end of visiting hours when she entered the room. There was Kate with Alexis cuddled into her side, both sleeping peacefully. Castle was in the chair beside the bed with the tray table pulled up, madly typing on his laptop. She cleared her throat just loudly enough to catch his attention. He pushed aside the tray table and rose to greet her.<p>

Lanie looked at the pair on the bed and then back at the man in front of her. "You really don't stand much of a chance against them do you?" she said with a smirk.

"What... Oh. No I guess I don't. My friends often tease me about how completely whipped I am" he chuckled, "Although I think I detect a bit of envy in their voices when they do" Lanie smiled brightly. "Of course I'm completely convinced that Kate uses their special mother-daughter bonding time to coach Alexis on how to control me."

Lanie put her hands to her mouth to silence her laughter "I'm sure she does."

"I really don't mind though, I mean it humbles and amazes me that a woman as extraordinary as Kate chooses to love me like she does, I feel blessed. And of course even if she got her hair colour and complexion from my mother, Alexis is truly Kate's mini-me"

Lanie chuckled "Ya I'm starting to notice that"

"Actually, you'd be surprised how far a sad pout, puppy dog eyes and a little whining will get me even when they gang up on me with Mother." Castle smirks.

Lanie laughs "Yea good luck with that. Well I better go, I don't want to disturb them. Please tell Kate I dropped by and take good care of them Rick" she said as she turned towards the door.

Castle glanced towards the bed "Always"


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Ok so first of all let me say again I am blown away by the response to this story. So I've reconsidered, I have some ideas about both Prequel and Sequel scenes. They will be short, they maybe random from a timeline perspective and I certainly can't promise any regular frequency of updates, but I'll give it a try.**

It had been five months since Kate was shot, Lanie and the boys had been spending time with the Castles, getting to know Rick, Alexis and even Martha. Lanie had thought briefly about going to the fan site and letting everyone in on the secret of Castle's girls, but ultimately decided not to expose her friend. She did from time to time still login just to see what was going on and today she got a bit of a surprise.

She clicked the link to the discussion forums and the first thing that caught her eye was a post titled 'Kate and Alexis – A Mystery No More' by StormChaser269. After a slight nervous hesitation she clicked the link to open the post and began reading

_'Hey boys and girls, the mystery is solved! Today I took my son to register for kindergarten, and take my breath away, who should walk into the room but our favourite ruggedly handsome mystery writer himself (sigh, heart flutter). He was accompanied by a stunning woman who he introduced as his wife Kate, and their darling little red-headed daughter Alexis. I have to be honest; Mrs. Castle is gorgeous, long wavy chestnut coloured hair, big hazel/green eyes, a bright mega-watt smile and a long slender frame. They look amazing together…'_ Lanie read with interest as the author gushed on and on about how Kate and Alexis looked. She finally got to the end, read a few of the responses, a smile came to her face as she closed the tab for the site. 'not too bad, I guess' 


End file.
